are you walking or just talking?
by sarah johnson dobek
rosenberg map survey
we saw 2016 as the year of transition for many firms.
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for firms that have been making the changes to grow and adapt to the marketplace, they had a good year. for many other firms that had been doing more talking than doing, we saw them struggle. growth was down or nonexistent.
every year, the authors of the rosenberg map survey ask the industry’s top consultants to share their observations of what they are seeing at cpa firms. specifically, they are asked the following questions:
- what kind of year was 2016? what were the major trends you observed? what were the issues you saw firms struggling with the most?
- 2017 is half over. based on your experiences this year, what are you seeing? what are the major trends? what are firms struggling with and what are they working on as the year progresses?
with 2017 half over, we are feeling encouraged. we are finally seeing some organizational commitment to succession, growth and people management.
we are seeing new managing partners begin the process of leadership transition, we see more strides in succession planning and less talk, but most importantly we are witnessing a shift in mindset around firms addressing and accepting the bigger areas of investment such as people development and performance management as well as growth. with this renewed commitment also comes a scrambling from some firms trying to expedite the process and catch up on what they haven’t been able to do.
non-compliance services continue to be a focus for growth, but many firms are trying to figure out how to make this work. they are researching it and exploring it, though many haven’t done much beyond talk about it. staffing and delivery challenges seem to be holding firms back in this regard.